ESL One Hamburg powered by Intel, Europe’s largest Dota 2 festival, has been confirmed as the next official Valve Major. The event, which has found a new home at the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg after being hosted in Frankfurt’s Commerzbank Arena for the past three years, will welcome the world’s top eight Dota 2 teams at the playoffs on October 28-29, 2017. The teams do battle not only over qualifier points for The International 2018 but also for an increased prize pool of $US1 million.

Two out of the eight teams will receive a direct invite to participate in the group stage of the Hamburg Major, which will take place from October 26-27, whereas the other six teams will be able to prove themselves in online qualifiers. The qualifiers will take place in six regions including North America, South America, Southeast Asia, China, Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. ESL One Hamburg will be the first Major after The International 2017, and ESL will host more Dota 2 Majors in 2018.

“We are extremely proud to see ESL One be named an official Valve Major,” said Ulrich Schulze, Senior Vice President of Product at ESL. “Having ESL One Frankfurt for three years in a row was great learning experience that showed us how passionate the Dota 2 community is. With this year’s world class Dota 2 event being held in a completely new location, we are expecting to mint many new legendary esports moments in Hamburg.”

ESL One Hamburg follows in the acclaimed footsteps of ESL One Frankfurt, which surrounded the Dota 2 main event with various side activities. This year, attendees can meet up with their favorite pro players to secure an autograph, participate in the famous Dota 2 cosplay competition or simply unite with thousands of fans from all over the world to cheer for their favorite team.

Tickets for ESL One Hamburg 2017 are already on sale via Eventim and range in price from €39 to €249, with private lounges available for €2.999 for up to five people.

Be sure to follow ESL One Dota 2 on Twitter and Facebook to receive the latest updates regarding ESL One Hamburg. For more information about the event visit the official website and check out our ESL One Hamburg announcement trailer.